Cartridge feeder



Patented Aug. 29, 1944 CARTRIDGE FEEDER John H. Woodberry. and Frederick W. Hoewischer, Metuchen, N. J.

Application January 1, 1943, Serial No. 471,064

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 6 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a cartridge feeding device, more particularly, to a device which will feed cartridges singly, or in succession, from a quantity of cartridges placed in the receiving hopper of the device. In many cartridge handling machines-as, for example, machines which insert single cartridges in individual pockets of canvas or link beltsit is necessary to feed the cartridges singly, or one at a time, to the machine. The cartridge feeding device of this invention is designed to feed cartridges singly from a massed or heaped quantity of cartridges, so that such cartridges may be conducted one at a time to a cartridge handling machine for the desired subsequent operation. The object of the invention is to provide a cartridge feeding device of the character described which will be simple in construction, positive in action, and rapid in operation. For the attainment of this and such other objects as may herein appear or be pointed out we have shown one embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a top View showing two units of the improved mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on .line 22 of Fig. 1, with the feeder slide in forward position.

Fig. 3 is a similar vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 1, with the feeder slide in rearward position.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the slide.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on line 6--6 of Fig. 3.

As best seen in Figures 2 and 3, the bottom of the hopper H3 is open. Slidable under the open bottom of hopper I0 is a slide 2!] provided with a floor plate 2| adaptable when the slide is in forward position (to the left, as shown in Fig. 2) to close the hopper bottom except for an opening a at the left of the hopper bottom of sufficient width to permit a single cartridge to pass through. The left end of floor plate 2| terminates at opening 11 except for two supporting fingers 22. The cartridges falling singly through the said hopper mouth a (in the forward position of the slide, Fig. 2) come to rest on supporting fingers 22, which are slightly inclined downwardly to the left, Fig. 2, so that the cartridges roll to the left. The cartridges are prevented from rolling towards the distal ends of 22 are withdrawn from supporting relation to cartridge M which falls free of the slide, as shown in Fig. 3. The cartridges behind foremost cartridge M are held back by lugs [4 projecting upwardly at the forward (leftward) end of base plate l3. When the slide is in forward position (Fig. 2) there is sufiicient clearance between hopper stop finger l2 and stop lug l4 for the passage of foremost-cartridge M.

Slide 29 is also provided with a pair of rearwardly extending fingers 23, the function of which, as the slide returns rightward, is to segregate the layer of cartridges, designated N in Fig. 3, resting on supporting fingers 22, from the remainder of cartridges heaped above them. To provide for the rearwardly (rightwardly, see Fig. 5) extending segregating fingers 23, a peripheral frame 24 encloses the forward portion of the lide, see Fig. 5, the fingers 23 extending from, and supported by, the front portion 24' of the peripheral frame 24.

We claim:

1. In a device for removing and feeding single cartridges, the combination of a hopper having an open bottom, a base plate, a plate slidable on the said base plate in underlying relation to the said hopper and provided with a peripheral frame, a fioor plate extending across the side members of the said peripheral frame and spaced rearwardly from the front member of the said peripheral frame, the said floor plate being adapted to close the said opening except for a space at the front of the hopper sufiicient for a single cartridge to pass, supporting fingers extending from the said slide plate in the said space defined by the peripheral frame and inclined towards the front whereby the single cartridges roll frontwardly, stop fingers secured on the front wall of the hopper and adapted to restrain the said frontward rolling of the cartridges, the said hopper stop fingers being disposed in the spaces between the said slide fingers, lugs projecting upwardly at the forward end of the said base plate adapted to hold the foremost cartridge whereby an open bottom, a base plate, a plate slidable on i the said base plate in underlying relation to the said hopper and provided with a peripheral frame,

a floor plate extending across the side members,

of the said peripheral frame and spaced reareral frame, the said floor plate being adapted to close the said opening except for a space at the front of the hopper sufiicient for a single cartridge to pass, supporting fingers extending from the said slide plate in the said space defined by the peripheral frame and inclined towards the front whereby the single cartridges roll'frontwardly, stop fingers secured on the front wall of the hopper and adapted torestrain the said frontward rolling of the cartridges, the said hopper stop fingers being disposed in the spaces between the said slide fingers, and lugs projecting upwardly at the forward end of the said base plate adapted to hold the foremost cartridge the front wall of the hopper and adapted to restrain the said frontward rolling of the cartridges, the said hopper stop fingers being disposed in the spaces between the said supporting fingers of'the slidable member and lugs project- 15 wardly from the front member of the said periphing upwardly at the forward end of the said base plateadapted to hold the foremost cartridge whereby the said cartridge will fall clear of the device as the said supporting fingers are withdrawnby the rearward return of the said slidable member."

5. Ina device for removing and feeding single cartridges, the combination of a hopper having whereby the said cartridge will fall clear of the a device as the said supporting fingers are withdrawn byvthe rearward return of the said slide.

3. In a device for removing and feeding single cartridges, the combination of a hopper having an open bottom, a base plate,'a member slidable on said base plate in underlying relation to the said hopper and provided with a floor plate adapted to close the said opening except for a spaceat the front of the hopper suificient for a single cartridge to pass, and with supporting fingers extending forwardly from the said slidab e member and inclined towards the front whereby the single cartridges roll frontwardly, stop fingers secured on the front wall of the hopper and adapted to restrain the said frontward rolling of the cartridges, the said hopper stop fingers being disposed in the spaces between the said supporting fingers of the slidable member, lugs projecting upwardly at the forward end of the said base plate adapted to hold the foremost cartridge whereby the said cartridge will fall clear of the device as the said supportin fingers are withdrawn by the rearward return of the said slidable member, and rearwardly extending fingers on the said slidable member adapted to insert themselves in the rearward return of the slidable member between the cartridges in the hopper to segregate the bottom layer of cartridges from those above.

4. In a device for removing and feeding single cartridges, the combination of a hopper having anopen bottom, a plate slidable in underlying relation to the said hopper adapted to close the said opening except for a space at the front of the hopper sufficient for a single cartridge to pass, supporting fingers extending from the said slide plate inclined towards the front whereby the single cartridges roll frontwardly, stop fingers secured on the front wall of the hopper and adapted to restrain the said frontward rolling of the cartridges, the said hopper stop fingers being disposed in the spaces between the said slide fingers, and lugs projecting upwardly at a point near the front of thehopper and in underlying relation' thereto adapted to hold the foremost cartridge whereby the said cartridge will fall clear of the'device as the said supporting fingers are Withdrawn by the rearward return of the said slide.

6. In a device for removing and feeding single cartridges, the combination of a hopper having an open bottom, a plate slidable in underlying relation to the said hopper adapted to close the said opening except for a space at the front of the hopper sufficient for a single cartridge to pass, supporting fingers extending from the said slide plate inclined towards the front whereby the single cartridges roll frontwardly, stop fingers secured on the front wall of the hopper and adapted to. restrain the said frontward rolling of the cartridges, and lugs projecting upwardly at a point near the front of the hopper and in underlying relation thereto adapted to hold the foremost cartridge whereby the said cartridge will fall clear of thedevice as the said supporting fingers are withdrawn by the rearward return of the said slide. v

JoHNlH. WOODBERRY.

FREDERICK W. HOEWISCHER. 

